The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1887-04-07

real and practlcal matterS OF IacC auo
every day life and experience. All
honor to the man honest and courageous
enough thus to speak to the point, with.
out lodging, or smothering up what he
means in cloud of word.dust. 1t is
just such men as Judge O'Neall that the
people ought to put into Office. They
are diamonds found among rottenness
they tell the people the truth, whether
the latter wish to hear it or not, and are
therefore their best, their real, their only
friends. They are the antipodes of dem
agogues. "Place the best and purest
men within your reach at the head Of
your government" says Judge O'Neall.
"Purge your Congress" Not a word
about patent rights of any kind. No
hair splitting about infnitesimal distinc'
tions, one thing to-day and another to-
morrow, and always utterly worthless,
utterly impotent either for good or evil,
except to promote lawlessness and crime,
and to elect demsagogues to office. But,
"purge your Congress" "place the best
and purest men within your reach at the
head of your government"
Is the country too far sunk in corrup.
tion, too drunken and besotted to take
this advice of the Chief Justice of South
Carolina? One of two things is as cer'
tain as the revolution of the seasons.
Either it is not too far gone to put forth
healthy efforts and recover, or if it is, its
destruction is inevitable, fixed as fate.
No man believes for an instant that our
institutions can long survive the preva.
lence of universal moral debauchery and
dishonesty. Public corruption, or cor
ruption in public places, if tolerated will
indicate an Indifference on the part of
the masses which will prove themselves
to have become vitiated, and no longer
sensible to the enormities and efforts Of
crime. 1t will prove they are incapable
of comprehending and withstanding the
appeals and articles of corrupt dema.
gogues, whose sole object is place and
plunder, obtained by any means, how
ever disgraceful and infamous.
We believe Judge O'Neall's theory Of
the source Of our danger to be correct
and the only theory worthy Of any
respectable mans. attention. He has
struck the core of the politicafand moral
cancer thai is eating out the vitals of the
Republic. 1t is the duty of the people,
if they have not themselves become
insensible to the danger, to remove this
sore from the body polite, by putting
the "best and purest raen within" their
"reach at the head Of" every department
of their government, National, State
and Municipal.
Can that portion of the public press Of
all parties not engaged in advocating
pugilism and sneering at honesty and
public and private morals, and toadying
to the snobocracy of Great Britain, render
better service to the public than by
aiding in bringing about this result?
! Perhaps some of our readers may
inquire how it is that such a man as
Judge John Belton O'Neall comes to be
at the head of the Judiciary of South
Carolina? At first blush it does seem 10
be perfect enigma. Bdt the whole
subject becomes ineligible, when We
recollect that among the ancient institu.
tions of South Carolina which have held
out against the assaults of a democracy
run mad, is its Judiciary. 1t is not elec.
tive. That tells the whole story, and a
most impressive and eloquent story it is;
one worthy of being listened to by every
State in the Union. All honor to South
Carolina for this her chief jewel.
0'Neall is her most precious diamond,
her Kohi.noor.-Ne,o Orleans Commercial
Bulletin.